Monday, 30 May 2016

Charity Shop Treasure

I found myself with a little free time on Saturday morning and decided to indulge in a little saunter round some of the local charity shops (Op shops, Thrift stores, Goodwill). I was after some light reading for my upcoming holiday and of course I am always on the look out for a bargain!

I was happy to find these two vintage Agatha Christie novels, a little heavy for my holidays but I do enjoy her works and have been reading them on and off since I was a teenager. In the past 6 months I have been seeking out her books whenever I pop into a charity shop, they are, however, becoming rather thin on the ground so it is always a bit of a thrill to find one. I really enjoy the age and life shown on the books from the fading on the covers to the pencilled notes by one of the previous owners.

My holiday reading has been provided thanks to another Agatha, Agatha Raisin written by M C Beaton. The character is a PR guru who retires to a sleepy Cotswold village and ends up turning detective, it is written with a lovely lighthearted touch. I enjoyed the Sky TV's version of a "The Quiche of Death" that was shown a couple of Christmases ago and am really looking forward to the new series which starts 7th June. We visited the Castle Combe village last year and they were in the process of filming there so I have been eagerly waiting for it to be shown. Without giving anything away I can reveal that at least one episode will feature a garden centre and a gnome!

A small haul for my sewing and vintage haberdashery collection. A nice piece of what appears to be a wool based fabric that I think will be big enough to make a straight skirt from, however, I think I may need to venture into the unknown territory of lining a garment, but as the fabric was only £2.95 it gives me the confidence to have a go without worrying about cost.

I picked up the little card of lace with a thought towards possibly using it to wrap a jam jar and pop in a tealight, if you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that I love decorating jam jars! or that I could thread a thin ribbon through the holes and use it as a trim on something. I did not however, look at the front of it untl I had it at home and realised that I had brought a small piece of social history. It is a sample card from a Nottingham based lace company, the pattern is trademarked in 1968 and the sample is date stamped to 1982. The Birkin family were one of the great lace making families of Nottingham, sadly this industry as with many in the area is no longer active and the Guy Birkin company no longer exists.

The final purchase of the day was this pack of stencils, I thought they could be used on one of my many blackboard paint projects, I hadn't realised there were quite so many until I it home and unpacked it, not bad for a pound,

I love buying in charity shops, it keeps things out of landfill and gives them another life, it raises funds for the charity and you never know exactly what you will find.

I seek out Agatha Christie books, what do you look for when you visit charity shops?

3 comments:

I love an Agatha Christie :D Like you, I have read them since my teens and feel you can always go back to them however old you are (and I forget the plots over time, which helps!). I was lucky enough to buy lots of the Reader's Digest editions (red fake leather bound) at a car boot sale a few years ago, so always have one on hand if I fancy snuggling on the sofa with a great 'who dunnit'.Great charity shop buys :) Jo

I love an Agatha Christie :D Like you, I have read them since my teens and feel you can always go back to them however old you are (and I forget the plots over time, which helps!). I was lucky enough to buy lots of the Reader's Digest editions (red fake leather bound) at a car boot sale a few years ago, so always have one on hand if I fancy snuggling on the sofa with a great 'who dunnit'.Great charity shop buys :) Jo